Miners' agonising grind drags on

BEACONSFIELD - The small Tasmanian town of Beaconsfield last night faced the prospect of another nail-biting day as rescue workers continued to grind their way, centimetre by centimetre, towards two miners trapped for 11 days almost 1km underground.

Todd Russell, 34, and Brant Webb, 37, were entombed in a steel cage on Anzac Day after a tremor collapsed the rock above them in the Beaconsfield goldmine. Another miner, Larry Knight, 44, was killed in the cave-in.

No one is sure how long the rescue operation will take, with miners still uncertain about the nature of the rock crust encasing the two men, and the dangers involved in the plan to dig up to the cage from beneath.

The final few centimetres of rock will be chipped away by hand.

"We're working on the process to get them out and it won't be tonight," mine manager Matthew Gill said yesterday.

Australian Workers Union national secretary Bill Shorten added: "I would prefer to try and pick the next Melbourne Cup winner than try and predict how long it will take."

Early jubilation in Beaconsfield when the two miners were found alive last Sunday has turned to stoic patience, as the families of the trapped men keep to themselves and their friends, away from a barrage of TV cameras set up outside their homes.

Below ground, buoyed by messages, food, and drink passed down a communications tunnel, Mr Russell and Mr Webb are reported to be maintaining their humour and good spirits in what paramedics have described as a psychological marathon.

They can hear the boring machine as its 1.7m head churns solid rock to dust, and listen to iPods sent down to help ease the nightmare hours of waiting. They also now have an air mattress and blankets, and a new diet.

On Thursday night their families made soup for them - chicken for Mr Russell and pumpkin for Mr Webb. Lemon iceblocks have become a favourite treat, and yesterday cereals and fresh fruit were added to the men's menu.

Local paramedic Karen Pendrey said the two men continued to chat easily despite the intense heat and cramped confines of their cage.

"I grew up in this area so we talk about local things," she said.

Mr Gill also talked to the pair yesterday, after missing them on Thursday because they were sleeping.

He said he had not discussed overtime with them, but he did complain to Mr Webb about their napping.

"I explained that I'd seen him sleeping on the job. I explained that I must be getting soft because it's the first time in my years in the industry that I've seen an employee sleeping on the job and left him to sleep on the job."

The banter exchanged between the miners and their rescuers has become a defining element of the gruelling operation. Even when one slides into depression, the other talks him through and exchanges jokes with the outside world.

Earlier in the week, Mr Russell asked for the weekend papers so he could look for another job.

Mr Gill passed on a fax from Dave Grohl, lead singer for the rock group Foo Fighters, whose music Mr Russell had asked for when iPods were passed through the communication tunnel.

Grohl told the pair he was thinking of them and wanted to know if they would have a beer with him after they emerged from the mine.

"They were both stoked by that," said Mr Gill. "Dave said basically, 'Thinking of you,' and 'Anywhere, anytime,' to catch up for two cold beers. Dave wanted to know if that was a deal and I can say that, yes, that's a deal."

But their rescue was last night still hours away. The rate of drilling of the rescue tunnel, started at 8pm on Thursday night, sped up early yesterday in softer rock, but rescuers still fear it may harden again, one of the problems they will face when they try to break through the final metre or so.

"It's important that we understand that the miners who will be doing the drilling through, or trying to break the crust, have got to be careful that they themselves don't get their safety compromised," Mr Shorten said. "They're not digging down - they're digging up this time."

Mr Gill said rescue officials were still deciding how this "very delicate" job would be tackled.

The mine has guaranteed to pay its employees for at least a month after the rescue, easing fears that they would lose their jobs while the mine remained closed until investigations established its safety, or even shut down permanently.